Computerized tomography (CT) scanning devices have been utilized to generate digital images of an internal anatomy of a person. In particular, CT scanning devices have been used to generate digital images of tumors in the person. In order to treat tumors, medical professionals perform CT scans to obtain digital images of the internal tumor to determine the location of the tumor.
A significant drawback with other CT scanning methods is that a portion of an internal anatomy of a person, including tumors, located in the chest region moves during a CT scanning procedure. Accordingly, to determine the location the tumor during respiration, operators have required that a person stop respiration at a full expiration state to perform a first scan, and subsequently require the person to stop respiration at a full inspiration state to perform a second scan. A person who is extremely ill, however, may not be able to stop breathing at the required full expiration state and the full inspiration state. Accordingly, digital images indicating the full range of motion of the tumor may not be obtained using these methods.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method that can generate a digital image of an internal anatomy of the person during at least one respiratory cycle of the person that indicates a location of a tumor over the respiratory cycle.